


Black Streets

by Flightless_Bird



Category: In the Heights - Miranda
Genre: Fighting, Hurt/Comfort, I'm sorry sonny, Language, The original ones have no names are purely there to make life hell, ignore these weird tags, pete is mentioned - Freeform, protective cousins in general, protective!Usnavi, some violence, sonny gets hurt, their sibling relationship gives me life, what happened if Usnavi had gotten to Sonny during the blackout
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-10-07 12:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10360944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flightless_Bird/pseuds/Flightless_Bird
Summary: "Where are you?" Sonny growled, as he fished his phone out of his pocket. The screen almost blinded him when it flashed on and he swore, squeezing his eyes shut briefly. He opened up his CONTACTS list and scrolled down. Off to his right, the garbage can clinked against something, but he ignored it. Probably just that cat again. Brow furrowed, he leaned his weight against the baseball bat.Just as he'd found his cousin's name and was about to press CALL, something barreled into him."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just recently finished In the Heights, and I have never written something so fast. This is a short one-shot about what happened if Usnavi made it back to the store while Sonny was fighting off some thugs. (Protective!Usnavi gives me life, if you haven't noticed)
> 
> I hope you like reading it as much as I liked writing it for you guys! Leave a comment and I'll love you forever :3 Thank you!
> 
> (Note: I apologize for any mistakes in my Spanish, I was relying on the internet.)

_I'm not scared. I'm not scared and whoever tries to mess with_ my _store is gonna get his teeth knocked out_. He had been chanting this over and over in his head for the past five minutes. It felt like an hour, every second stretching itself out in the black streets. There were cries in the dark, distant footsteps and crashing in the night. He straightened his back and tightened the grip he had on the baseball bat.

  
Sonny had never been left alone like this. He'd had to man the store by himself before, yes, when Usnavi stepped out for something, but it didn't come close to tonight. His eyes searched the darkness again and again, waiting for the sounds of running or shouting, glass breaking. It was inevitable; blackouts transformed the Heights, made it ugly, and it brought out the ugly people in it too. It was unrecognizable, painted in black, and Sonny strained to get his eyes to adjust more. There were people out now who weren't hesitating to take advantage, there was glass shattering on the streets and angry yells in the air.

  
They weren't going to be taking advantage of anything here. Sonny would make sure of that.

  
The crash of a garbage can toppling over made him jerk around, eyes wide. He glimpsed a stray cat scrabbling to its feet, having knocked the can over when it tried to jump on top of it. "Shit," Sonny muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. Adrenaline had burst into him, making his fingers shake when he fiddled with the bat. He wished he'd made Pete stay, but he'd gone to find some sort of distraction while Sonny stayed behind to watch the store. In retrospect, that might not have been the best idea because Pete's distraction wasn't happening yet and Sonny was left here with nothing but a damn bat.

  
"Where are you?" he growled, as he fished his phone out of his pocket. The screen almost blinded him when it flashed on and he swore, squeezing his eyes shut briefly. He opened up his CONTACTS list and scrolled down. Off to his right, the garbage can clinked against something, but he ignored it. Probably just that cat again. Brow furrowed, he leaned his weight against the baseball bat.

  
Just as he'd found his cousin's name and was about to press CALL, something barreled into him.

  
The bat was knocked out from under him and he stumbled, hissing when a hard weight collided with his stomach. It was someone's freaking elbow— _Goddammit_ —and Sonny heard a male's voice shouting, "hey, it's just a kid! Get him out of the way, I'm going in first!" Shoes pounded on pavement as a figure made to run past him into the store. A flash of anger had him gritting his teeth; pinned to the ground by whoever had jumped on him, he lashed out blindly. His foot met the guy's chest and sent him reeling back, and Sonny reached out at the same time. He caught the other guy's ankle and brought him down before he could reach the front of the store. The sound of their pained yelps brought a flicker of triumph into him.

  
Standing up again, he yanked the brim of his backwards cap back down into place. " _Hey_! Assholes!" he yelled, glaring at the two guys clambering to their feet in front of him. " _Salir_! Before I make you!"

  
To his frustration, one of them laughed, the other grumbling something like _lousy kid_ under his breath. The taller one, the fucking _laughing_ one smirked, teeth catching the dim moonlight and making them look like a row of smiling white against the dark. "Yeah?" he sneered. "You really gonna make us, _perrito_?"

  
Sonny bristled. Leaning down, he snatched up his fallen baseball bat. "Call me that again and I'll break your fucking nose!"

  
The shorter, balder guy shrank away slightly next to his friend, eyes on the strong line of Sonny's shoulders and his defiant glare. Sonny hoped he was scared as hell. Yeah, okay he was bluffing a little when he'd said he'd beat them up. Although there were only two of them, so he might very well be able to fight them off.

  
The minute the thought crossed his mind, Tall Guy grinned wolfishly and flapped a hand at Bald, Short Guy. "Get a head start, would ya? We gotta teach the punk some manners." He advanced on Sonny, gaze flicking to something behind him.

  
_We? Aw, shit._

  
That was all he had time to think before they were on him. A pair of hands grabbed each arm from behind, yanking them back. Cursing, he stomped down on someone's foot and heard a squeal from the guy on his left. The grip on him loosened and he tore his left arm free right as Tall Guy appeared frighteningly close. His fist swung forward and nailed Sonny in the stomach. Pain exploded in his abdomen and he doubled over with a grunt. The hold on his arms was immediately tight again, bringing his hands almost behind his back. He heard Tall Guy chuckle gleefully and clenched his teeth together against the flood of insults he ached to call this bastard. "Look at him go!" he leered. Resting his hands on his knees, he brought his face down to Sonny's. "Little _perrito's_ got more bite than I thought!"

  
Sonny glowered straight into his eyes and then spit in his face.

  
Spluttering, Tall Guy reared back. "Son of a bitch!" he snarled, and Sonny saw the blur of his arm coming toward him too late. Knuckles met skin and Sonny cried out as the blow snapped his head to the side. His cap slipped off, landing next to his feet. His temple and eye felt as though they had lit up into flames and he knew that he was going to have a nasty black eye. Behind them, glass cracked with a terrible lightning-bolt sound and brought Sonny's head up in panic. There was another one in the store with the bald one and they were already sweeping things off of shelves, leaving some to spill out across the floor.

  
The person on his right jammed his elbow into Sonny's side, jerking his attention away from the store. "Bastards!" he snapped, jaw tight against the throbbing of his ribs. Twisting, he slammed his heel into the man's shin. Angry yells tore the air and Tall Guy strode forward again. Taking a steadying breath, Sonny let the two captors take his weight and brought his feet up; they met Tall Guy's chest with a thud and he was thrown back to the ground. It was probably as painful as it sounded when he hit the pavement and Sonny found himself grinning. The guy on his left had let him go to hold his hurt shin and Sonny ducked when the other one swung a punch. _This is gonna hurt like hell_ , he thought, then brought his head back up hard. The back of his head smacked into the guy's forehead with enough force for him to release Sonny.

  
"Shit!" Sonny swore as the guy stumbled back, rubbing at the back of his head. "Dammit, that hurt." His gaze flew up at the sudden noise of running and Tall Guy was there, looking absolutely murderous. Someone must have recovered enough, because an arm snaked itself around Sonny's throat before he could fight back. Choking, he writhed against the man's hold and Tall Guy ripped the bat from his hands. Sonny saw it winding back and for the first time tonight, he felt the adrenaline melting into real fear.

  
It hit across his abdomen with a crack and the noise he made sounded like a strangled animal. His body tried to curl in on itself, hunching forward, but fingers knotted in his hair and jerked his head up. Gasping, he glimpsed Tall Guy twirling the bat readily, and he knew then that he probably wasn't going to be able to beat these guys off. At this point, he started trying to guess how many bones he was gonna break before they let him go.

  
Suddenly, a new weight crashed into them.

  
The guy's arms were pulled from Sonny with the impact and he fell to his knees, gulping in air. Tall Guy let out a cry of outrage and dashed after his fallen companion. Holding his aching stomach, Sonny grimaced and risked a glance over his shoulder. There wasn't another gang after him, was there? Then his eyes widened in shock.

  
He didn't know his cousin could look like that.

  
" _Son of a bitch! No toque mi primo_!" Usnavi pulled his fist back and then punched the guy so hard, it sent him tumbling onto his back. Near-passed-out, he laid there as his buddy threw himself onto Usnavi from the side. The two struggled, a few blows landing on Usnavi's shoulders, but he was too furious to care. He almost had the man beaten down to the ground, was landing hits that had Sonny gawking. Then Tall Guy rushed up behind him, hefting the bat up high.

  
"You fucking—!" Wincing, Sonny scrambled up and lunged. He had to jump to reach, but he made it, grabbing onto the baseball bat from behind. "Don't even fucking _think_ about hurting my cousin!" he snarled and he looped his free arm around Tall Guy's neck. His weight swung them back, Tall Guy's shout cut off by the press of Sonny's arm at his throat. Over his head, Sonny saw Usnavi turning and striding for them, dark eyes blazing. Rapid-fire, he smashed his knuckles into Tall Guy's face twice. Sonny let go of him and dropped to the ground again. When he looked up, he got to see Usnavi's fist break the guy's nose.

  
Blood spattered out across his mouth and Tall Guy wailed, hands shooting up to his face. A litany of curses spilled from him as he reeled back, hands gleaming scarlet. His friends had disappeared from the store, probably running off when Usnavi had shown up. He blinked blearily up at Usnavi, who glowered at him dangerously. "Get the hell out of here or I'll break something else!" he snapped.

  
Shoulders hunching in shame, Tall Guy hurried away, past Sonny and his fallen gang. The other two left behind scurried after him, one of them holding his face where Usnavi had hit him.

  
Sonny's shoulders slumped the moment the darkness swallowed them up. Without the constant action of a fight, his body realized just how much it fucking hurt. He pressed a hand to a place on his ribcage, knowing that he was going to be covered in bruises tomorrow morning. "Damn fucking pieces of sh—"

  
"What'd they do to you?" Usnavi demanded, practically plowing into Sonny. He swept his hands over his hair, down his shoulders. "Fuck, look at your eye, where else did they hit you?"

  
"Hey, get off me!" Sonny complained and tried to wriggle out of Usnavi's grasp. He got it, Usnavi was worried, but Jesus, if he touched one more aching place on him, Sonny was gonna beat him up too. His fingers grazed Sonny's side and Sonny inhaled through his teeth with a hiss. "Stop it, 'Navi, that hurts!"

  
"What'd they do here!?"

  
Sonny squeaked as Usnavi yanked at the neck of his tank top and tried to peer at his bruised chest. "Let go! Hit me with a bat, that's it! _Dios mío,_ you're actin' like my mother!" Tugging the hem of shirt into place, he stepped back. Then his eyes met Usnavi's and his frown faded when he saw Usnavi's pained expression. "What?"

  
"They hit you with a bat?" Usnavi asked, almost in a whisper.

  
Sonny sniffed, cast his eyes down to where his cap rested on the ground. "Yeah," he answered, bending down to pick it up, "but it's no big deal, I didn't— _oof_!" He grunted as Usnavi flung his arms around him and yanked him in close. His bruises burned and he bit his lip against a little noise of pain. But Usnavi didn't let go, just stood there, and Sonny huffed in exasperation. "C'mon, 'Navi, I wasn't even...." His complaints trailed off when Usnavi's arms tightened around him, fingers wrinkling the back of his shirt. He felt a shiver run down his cousin's body and his annoyance faded.

  
He must have really scared him.

  
"I'm okay now, you know," he muttered, hands lifting up hesitantly to hug Usnavi back.

  
"I know."

  
"They got in to the store though."

  
"I don't care."

  
Swallowing, Sonny rested his chin on Usnavi's shoulder and let himself lose his calm for one moment. For one moment, he held his cousin tighter, for one moment, he held back tears that suddenly burned behind his eyelids, for one moment, he closed his eyes and thanked God above that Usnavi got here when he did. "Thanks," he mumbled into the fabric of Usnavi's shirt. "And, y'know."

  
"I know," Usnavi murmured. "I love you too."

  
He helped Sonny limp back into the store, as fireworks began to light up the Heights.


	2. Usnavi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "One was hopping around on one foot, holding onto his leg and whining. Another in a beaten-looking cap had his arms clenched around someone's neck, the person struggling weakly. Usnavi saw a mop of dark curls and felt sick. "Sonny," he breathed hoarsely."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's part two, as promised! Thank you guys for the kind words, I hope you like this! :3

He could hardly recognize the Heights. They were black, the sparse moonlight catching on the buildings and leaving the alleys below in shadow. Usnavi had never felt more fear than the moment the club was dropped into blackness. The first thoughts were scattered, a mixture of _what's going on?_ and _what happened to the lights_? Then it shifted to _blackout_ and _Vanessa, Abuela, Sonny._

  
Sonny. He'd been left with the store and Usnavi knew what happened to stores during blackouts. They were broken into and ruined. His stomach twisted in dread at the thought, but if he had to lose the store, then he would lose the store. Things could be replaced, eventually. He only hoped that Sonny had enough sense to leave it behind and get somewhere safe.

  
Out in the darkened streets, Usnavi headed back toward the bodega with eyes still adjusting to the new, deeper night. Once in a while, someone would dash past him in a panic and every time, he would almost jump, he was so keyed up. There were calls in the night, people trying desperately to find lost family members, thugs flooding the streets with shouts to their friends as they zeroed in on a target. Someone screamed, high-pitched and heartbreaking, and Usnavi picked up the pace. He needed to get back to that store.

  
Footsteps pounded to his left and he glanced over just in time to see a kid hurl a rock at the window of a liquor store. The glass window spiderwebbed with cracks for a single second, then dropped away with a crash. Glass crunching under their shoes, the kid and his gang climbed their way inside. Jaw tightening, Usnavi turned away from them. He couldn't waste time stopping to yank a bunch of punks out of someone's store; he needed to worry about his own. A twinge of guilt hit him and then was gone. Whoever owned that place would understand why people were reluctant to stop.

  
A distant gunshot cracked the air and Usnavi did jump that time, halting in the middle of the street. A woman in the apartment behind him gasped out " _dios mío_ ," and slammed her door shut. Usnavi peered into the darkness with wide eyes, but couldn't tell where the shot had come from. It must have been from behind a row of buildings, not on their street. God, people were shooting now? What the hell was going on?

  
"I gotta get to the store," he muttered in renewed fear and broke into a jog.

  
The yelling grew louder as he moved deeper toward his block, more screams tore into the night, and the crashes of looted stores were on every side. It was all blurring together, bombarding him in a wall of terrifying sound. He was running now, losing all notions of staying calm. What if something happened to Sonny?

  
He was a block away from the store when someone tried to run past him. Their shoulder caught on Usnavi's too hard. The guy yelped and Usnavi swore as they were thrown off-balance and tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs. As he tried to stand, the man's knee butted into his chest. "Agh!" he grunted, grabbing the guy's leg and shoving it off of him. "Get off!"

  
The man tripped over his own feet with the momentum of Usnavi's push and dropped down to the pavement for a second time. Legs hurriedly gathering under him, he clambered up to his feet and dashed off. "Asshole!" he yelled over his shoulder.

  
Running his fingers over his forehead and back through his hair, Usnavi absently flashed him the middle finger. Stupid guy. Everyone needed to calm the hell down. Swiping his hat off the street, he jammed it back onto his head and stood up. Grimacing at the dull ache in his chest, he turned his eyes to where his store would be, precious few yards ahead. It was nothing but a black shape against a darker sky, faintly outlined by silver starlight.

  
In front of it, a blur of shapes writhed. Somebody let out a loud shout and Usnavi's heart dropped down to his stomach. _What the_...? Something thudded—a punch maybe?—and a sickeningly familiar voice cried out. Usnavi's blood chilled. Sonny. He strode forward, hands already curling readily into fists. As he closed the distance between him and the bodega, the blurry figures solidified into people.

  
One was hopping around on one foot, holding onto his leg and whining. Another in a beaten-looking cap had his arms clenched around someone's neck, the person struggling weakly. Usnavi saw a mop of dark curls and felt sick. "Sonny," he breathed hoarsely.

  
The tallest one of the group started forward, swinging a baseball bat idly in his hands. Sonny gasped for air, twisting against his captor's arms and looking at that baseball bat. His eyes were wide, terror written in them, and Usnavi never ever wanted to see Sonny's eyes like that again. He was running before he even realized that he was moving, gaze trained on the one with his arms around Sonny's throat. They were after his cousin, they were hurting _his little cousin_ , and the very thought of it ignited a rage that he hadn't known he could feel.

  
_"Son of a bitch! No toque mi primo_!" He slammed into them, shoulder meeting the man's chest and hauling him off of Sonny. Out of the corner of his eye, Usnavi saw Sonny fall to his knees, pulling air into sore lungs. It only made him angrier. The guy he'd tackled lifted his head to meet Usnavi's eyes, face twisted into a glare. The glare quickly disappeared when Usnavi yanked him up by the collar and then smashed his fist into his face. Usnavi hissed at the pain that burst into life in his knuckles, but it as so worth it; the guy toppled backward onto the pavement, face bruised and eyes dazed. Shaking out his hand, Usnavi started to turn away.

  
Someone jumped on him and he stumbled under their weight. "Shit!" he snapped, feeling the guy's fist collide with his ribs. He straightened up and sucked in a gasp at the second blow to his shoulder. _Little punk_. Gritting his teeth, he landed a punch to the guy's face that cracked so hard, he was sure he'd just knocked out a tooth. Yelling furiously, the man came at him swinging and Usnavi's blood sang with adrenaline. He ducked under one hit, then landed two, one on the guy's stomach and another to his face. He was wearing him down, he could tell, the man gradually sinking farther and farther back.

  
A sudden shout from behind made him glance over his shoulder, then hiss, " _fuck_ ," when he glimpsed a tall one coming at him with a baseball bat. The guy made it three steps, then his eyes flew open wide when an arm snaked around his neck. Sonny had thrown himself onto him, free hand clinging to the bat as the man tried to wrench it free. He tugged the guy's head back, bringing a choked cry out of him, and his eyes burned with anger. "Don't even fucking _think_ about hurting my cousin!"

  
Pride for Sonny welled up in his chest and Usnavi marched toward them lividly. He punched the tall guy twice, the second hit jerking his head to the side with a thud. Releasing his hold, Sonny fell back to the ground, gaze trained on his cousin with something akin to awe. The tall guy staggered, baseball bat slipping from his grasp. Usnavi remembered seeing him spinning it, remembered that look on Sonny's face when he saw it coming, and his blood boiled. Bringing his fist forward as hard as he could, he crushed it into the guy's face. A gut-wrenching crunch sounded as blood splattered out across the man's mouth and like the dork he was, Usnavi just thought _, holy shit, I didn't know I was strong enough to break his nose_.

  
Spewing curse words, the bully fell back, holding his bleeding face. Usnavi took a threatening step in his direction and jabbed his finger toward the street. "Get the hell out of here or I'll break something else!" he shouted. Tripping over himself, the guy ran. Outraged yells rose up from the rest of his gang, as they hurriedly picked themselves up and dashed after him.

Silence fell over their block, broken only by the distant noises of other struggles taking place in the night. Chest heaving as the adrenaline seeped out of him, Usnavi ran his fingers over an aching spot on his face. He'd gotten hit at his temple and his fingers came away wet with blood. Damn thugs. He bet that some of them had made it into the store while he was busy fighting the others off. Then he heard a strained gasp and spun around to face an exhausted Sonny. Pushing himself to his feet, Sonny held his side, ever-present cap left on the ground behind him. He winced as his hands came into contact with a hurt place on his ribs and growled, "damn fucking pieces of sh—"

  
Usnavi barely heard him. He was darting forward as Sonny spoke and he cut him off when he grabbed him by the shoulders. "What'd they do to you?" he demanded, gaze flicking over him worriedly. He raked his hands over his hair, fingertips grazing his swollen, black-and-blue eye. "Fuck, look at your eye, where else did they hit you?"

  
"Hey, get off me!" Squirming in his hold, Sonny shot him a weary glare. Usnavi ignored him, trying to find every place those monsters had hurt him, and Sonny hissed in pain. "Stop it, 'Navi, that hurts!" As he tried to duck away from him, Usnavi caught sight of a bruise spreading across his torso under his tank top.

  
"What'd they do here?!" he squeaked, and tugged at Sonny's shirt in a panic. He probably looked out of his mind, but he didn't care.

  
"Let go!" Sonny protested. "Hit me with a bat, that's it! _Dio mío_ , you're actin' like my mother!"

  
Usnavi's hands fell away from him, frozen in midair. His mind had gone to numb static at the words, focused only on a single phrase: hit me with a bat. He'd thought he'd gotten there in time. He thought he'd stopped the worst of it.

  
Sonny met his gaze and stilled. "What?" he asked, irritation and a twinge of concern in his voice.

  
Usnavi swallowed hard. "They hit you with a bat?"

  
Eyes flitting down and away, Sonny brushed it off like it was nothing. "Yeah," he replied, as he snagged his cap from the street. "But it's no big deal—" _No big deal, they beat you with a baseball bat and it's no big deal, god I should've been there_. "—I didn't, oof!"

  
Usnavi suddenly grabbed him by the front of his shirt and hauled him into a hug.

  
He couldn't—he just—he had to know he was okay now, Sonny was okay, he was here and no one was hurting him again. Usnavi held him close and stared at the pavement behind him without really seeing it. He heard Sonny sigh in annoyance. "C'mon, 'Navi, I wasn't even..." _Don't. Almost lost you_. Shivering, Usnavi held him tighter, curling his fingers in Sonny's shirt. He would've been alone. Sonny could've been killed and Usnavi would be here, alone. He wouldn't have survived it.

  
He felt Sonny relax slightly, his hands coming up to rest on Usnavi's back. "I'm okay now, you know."

  
"I know."

  
"They got into the store though."

  
Screw the store. "I don't care."

  
There was a tiny, shuddering breath and Sonny's head fell into the curve of Usnavi's shoulder. "Thanks," he whispered, muffled. "And, y'know."

  
A sad smile tugged at Usnavi's mouth. "I know," he mumbled back. "I love you too."

  
They stood like that for another few moments. Dimly, Usnavi heard the long whistle of a firework streaking up into the sky. Fireworks over the Heights while there was this hell going on. This night couldn't feel any more bizarre than it did right then. As the first one went off with a ground-shaking boom, Usnavi pulled back from Sonny and released a long breath. "Okay," he huffed, dragging a hand over his face. "Let's go. You need something for that eye."

  
"Mmkay," Sonny hummed in resignation. He immediately leaned his side against Usnavi and Usnavi blinked down at him. Not meeting his cousin's gaze, Sonny muttered something about it being hard to walk. Usnavi didn't comment on it, just looped his arm around Sonny's shoulders and took some of his weight. They shuffled through the entrance of the store, Sonny limping a bit and Usnavi's attention flicking briefly to the damage.

  
Yeah, there were things thrown off the shelves and more than a few items were broken on the floor. Usnavi's throat felt thick. This was going to be a bitch to clean up. Deciding that he was going to ignore that whole affair until later, he focused on helping Sonny to the counter. "Sit up here," he said, as Sonny tossed his cap onto the countertop. "I'm gonna get the first aid stuff."

  
"On the counter?" Sonny asked, rolling his eyes teasingly. "I'm not _that_ short."

  
The mood lightened considerably and Usnavi found himself snorting as he headed around the counter to find the first aid kit. "Says the guy who still can't reach the top shelf."

  
"Hey." Usnavi turned at Sonny's voice and Sonny promptly flipped him off.

  
"Keep it up and I'll punch your other eye," Usnavi scoffed.

  
Sonny hefted himself up onto the counter with a grimace. " _No te atreverías_."

  
" _Estás seguro de eso_?"Usnavi shot him a mock threatening look and Sonny feigned fear, splaying a hand on his chest with a dramatic gasp. Chuckling, Usnavi shook his head and walked back over to the counter, first aid kit in hand. He'd also swiped an ice pack from the fridge and he held it out to Sonny as he came over. "Here. Stick this on your eye."

  
Grunting resignedly, Sonny accepted the ice pack and pressed it to his darkening black eye. "This isn't that cold," he pointed out. He pointed up at the ceiling, where the lights were still shut off. "Blackout, remember?"

  
Oh right. Usnavi shrugged, a half-smile pulling at his mouth. "It's better than nothing. Hold still for me, okay?" Popping open the first aid kit, he pulled out a few bandages. There were a couple small scrapes on Sonny's face and arms, none of which were very big. He picked out the smallest bandage and antiseptic.

  
As soon as he started cleaning up the scratches, Sonny would not shut up.

  
"Aw, shit, _que demonios_ , fuck, dammit—"

  
"Where did you learn to talk like that?" Usnavi asked sarcastically.

  
"Where d'you think?" Sonny returned with a meaningful look. He only wrinkled his nose distastefully when Usnavi went back to cleaning the blood from his arms again. They were quiet for a few minutes. Sonny watched Usnavi work, leaning the side of his face into the ice pack. Eventually, his gaze wandered up from Usnavi's hands to his face and the blood glistening from the cut above his temple.  
"Hey," he said. "You gotta cut on your head."

  
"Mmhm." Usnavi ripped a bandaid out of the packaging and stuck it over the smallest scrape above Sonny's elbow.

  
Taking the ice pack from his face, Sonny set it down next to him. "Hey, 'Navi," he tried again. "You're hurt."

  
"I know."

  
"Well, aren't you gonna—?"

  
"Nah, I'm fine."

  
"Y'know, I'm not that bad."

  
"Don't worry about it, Sonny."

  
Sonny blew out a rough breath. Ignoring him, Usnavi pointed at the abandoned ice pack. "You should put that back on," he told him. Of course he knew that he was hurt, he could feel every place where those punks had hit him. But it wasn't important. Sonny had gotten it way worse. Rummaging around in the kit for another bandage, Usnavi glanced absently at the ice pack again. "Hey, I said—"

"'Navi."

  
"Sonny, listen you gotta—"

  
" _Usnavi de la Vega, cállate_ ," Sonny snapped, grabbing Usnavi's hat from his head and pointing at his bruised temple. "You're hurt."

  
Usnavi stared at him, lips parting. He hadn't thought that him being hurt would bother Sonny that much. But there was real concern in Sonny's eyes and he wouldn't take his gaze from Usnavi's bruised face. Something warmed in Usnavi's chest and he glanced down at his shoes. "Okay," he half-laughed, shaking his head. "Sorry. I guess, y'know... _eres mi familia. Odio cuando estás herido_."

  
Cracking a smile, Sonny gave him a push in the arm.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he teased. "Sap."

  
"Shut up."

  
"You shut up, gimme that damn antiseptic."

  
"It doesn't hurt that bad, does it?"

  
"It hurts like hell, thanks a lot. Now hold still."


End file.
